Numerous cooling beverage containers have been provided in prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,357,809 to Held et al.; 5,001,907 to LaCroix et al.; 5,189,892 to Roberts; 5,207,076 to Sciarrillo; 5,406,808 to Babb et al. and 5,653,124 to Weber all are illustrative of such prior art. While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.
The Held et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,357,809 discloses a cooling arrangement including a gel. The beverage cooling arrangement having an inner receptacle defined by a closed end, an open end and a wall disposed between the open and closed ends. An outer encasement partially encases the inner receptacle, and the encasement is joined at the upper end to the inner receptacle along the open end thereof forming a cavity between the inner receptacle and the encasement. A layer of cellular compressible heat-insulating material is disposed within the cavity adjacent the encasement. A solid gel refrigerant is disposed within the remainder of the cavity between the insulation layer and the receptacle. A base is secured to the outer encasement so as to completely seal and isolate the cavity from the outside environment.
The LaCroix et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,001,907 discloses a beverage container with refrigerant gel. The beverage container includes an inner tubular wall defining a reservoir; a transparent outer tubular wall surrounding the inner wall and spaced therefrom to form an annular chamber having upper and lower annular openings; a top wall joining upper ends of the inner and outer walls and closing the upper opening; a base closing the lower opening; and a refrigerant gel retained within the chamber.
The Roberts U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,892 discloses a container that cools liquids. The container that keeps liquids cold includes an upstanding hollow post that defines an upstanding cavity having an open end at the lowermost end of the container. A frozen plug is inserted into the cavity from the lowermost end and locked into place. The hollow post is made of a non-insulating material, so that the cold plug lowers the temperature of the liquid in the container or reduces the rate of temperature increase of the liquid. The plug need not be maintained in a clean condition because it never comes into contact with the liquid in the container.
The Sciarrillo U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,076 discloses a pitcher cooler. The present invention comprises an apparatus for cooling liquid held in a vessel having an externally extending handle. The apparatus comprises a double-walled container having an inner wall and an outer wall radially spaced apart. The inner wall and outer wall are sealingly attached to a generally flat base member. Each of the inner and outer walls extend generally arcuately about the base member and defines a slot extending substantially perpendicular from the base member. The ends of the inner wall are sealingly connected to the ends of the outer wall adjacent the slot and edges of the inner and outer walls distal from the base member are sealingly attached one to the other for defining a closed space between the inner and outer walls. A refrigerant coolant is disposed in the closed space for maintaining the container at a predeterminately cool temperature for a determinable time interval. The vessel is removably positionable in the container with the handle extending through the slot.
The Babb et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,406,808 discloses a two-liter bottle cooler/insulator. The two-liter bottle cooler includes a container and a lid. The container has a chamber with an enclosed bottom and an open top. The container has multiple walls displaced from each other creating annular pockets. The annular pocket that is nearest the chamber is filled with a freeze gel and the outer annular pocket is filled with an insulating foam. The open top of the container has external threads and the mouth of the lid is internally threaded with mating threads. The lid can be screwed onto the container to hold a two-liter bottle in place within the chamber. The dome of the lid has a hole with the neck of the two-liter bottle passing through the hole, so that beverage contained within the two-liter bottle can be poured directly from the bottle as it is held in the cooler. The hole in the dome is internally threaded, so that the cooler can also function as a container without an inserted two-liter bottle. In the latter case, a pour spout is provided with a threaded plug and a spout. The threaded plug mates with the internal threading in the hole of the dome to close the dome. The spout is externally threaded and a two-liter bottle cap can be threaded onto the spout to close it. When the pour spout is not in use, it can be stored in a pocket in the handle in the cooler. The pocket is internally threaded to mate with the external threads on the plug. When the plug is in use, the cover can be stored by threading it onto an externally threaded stump contained on the bottom of the handle of the cooler.
The Weber U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,124 discloses a refrigerated insulating beverage container system. An insulated stein for carrying and maintaining a constant temperature of a poured beverage or of a canned beverage, featuring a sleeve to slip the can into, an optional insulating vessel to alternatively slip into the sleeve that can by itself contain a beverage poured into the vessel, a D-handle for the user to grasp onto, a hinged lid that can be pivoted upwards or downwards to cover the top of the can or to make the can accessible to the user, and a portable reusable refrigerant disk that fits into a cavity in the bottom of the stein and is held in place by a fitted bottom cap. The stein is made of an injection molded thermoplastic selected for good insulating properties.